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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Beto O'Rourke talks Democratic strategy ahead of 2026 midterms
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke has not shied away from politics despite three failed runs for office. The former U.S. Senate, presidential and gubernatorial Democratic candidate has spent most of his year racing around the state, holding town halls to discuss what issues matter most to voters. Now, he is also looking ahead to the 2026 midterm elections. In an interview, O'Rourke confirmed that a meeting took place between himself and top Texas Democrats U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio), State Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) and former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (D-Dallas). He said the meeting was to look ahead to the midterms and decide which Democratic candidates should run for which offices. 'We don't lack Democrats who can run powerful, strong statewide races. My concern is making sure that everyone is in the right position,' O'Rourke said. 'If you have everybody clustered in a Senate primary, for example, well then, who's going to run for governor, lieutenant governor, Attorney General?' Currently, only a few Democrats have declared candidacy for statewide office — State Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin) announced she would run for lieutenant governor earlier this year. NASA Astronaut Terry Virts also announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate, and East Texas Farmer Bobby Cole is running for governor. But the rest of the Texas Democratic bench has remained in place despite rumors surrounding their potential candidacies. The eventual Democratic nominee in the Senate race may get a more favorable matchup should Attorney General Ken Paxton defeat Sen. John Cornyn in the GOP primary. A recent poll from the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas found Paxton's approval rating at just 29 percent, with only 11 percent approving strongly. Other hypothetical polling has shown Allred leading Paxton but trailing Cornyn. Should Allred choose to run again, he would enter the race with a history of strong performances. He defeated incumbent Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Waco) in the 2018 race for Texas' 32nd congressional district before running against Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024. While he lost by 8.5 points, he significantly overperformed former Vice President Kamala Harris in the state, especially among Hispanic voters in the Rio Grande Valley. At just 36, Talarico has been seen as a young rising star in the Democratic Party. Before the lines were redrawn, he represented a swing district north of Austin in the Texas House and won a few close races. Castro, like O'Rourke, was also a candidate for president in 2020, and serves as a U.S. Representative in Texas' 20th congressional district, based in San Antonio. O'Rourke's town halls suggest he may be pursuing statewide office in 2026, but he was not ready to announce anything just yet, staying focused on what he can do in this moment. 'If it makes sense to be a candidate … then I will. My only guiding principle, my north star, is what can I do now for this country in its moment of truth,' O'Rourke said. 'If that includes being a candidate at some point, I'm open to that.' His town halls are not just in big Democratic areas, but also in smaller, more Republican cities around the state, including places like Midland, Tyler and Beaumont. His message focuses on policies that may affect Texans, including increasing Medicaid access, keeping THC products legal, raising the minimum wage above $7.25 per hour and protecting abortion access for women. Asked if a Democrat taking back a state or federal office in Texas was more important, O'Rourke seemed to suggest the U.S. Senate race was top of mind as a way to counter the Trump administration. 'It's tough not to say that we need to do it all at the federal level. I really do think it's existential,' O'Rourke said. 'This idea of self-government–it might really perish from the planet unless we stand up to take it back. And that means winning that seat in the Senate.' A Democrat has not won statewide in Texas since 1994, but O'Rourke has come the closest of anyone since. He lost the 2018 U.S. Senate race to Sen. Ted Cruz by roughly 2.5 points before failing to seek the Democratic nomination for president and losing the 2022 governor's race to Gov. Greg Abbott by nearly 11 points. Still, O'Rourke said Texas is misunderstood as a state, and a Democrat can win if they campaign on the issues that matter the most to Texans. 'The national media and the country at large have written us off as this red conservative state,' O'Rourke said. 'It is up to Democrats, even though the playing field is tilted against us, to go out there and seize that power by meeting with voters, by listening to them, by reflecting their values in the campaigns that we run.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Newsweek
6 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Donald Trump's Approval Rating Goes Negative in Texas
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump's approval rating in Texas went negative in a poll of the Lone Star State released this week. Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email. Why It Matters Texas has long been viewed as one of the most conservative states, and Democrats have not won it at the presidential level since 1976. Trump won the state by nearly 14 points in 2024, but Democrats are eyeing the state's Senate race as a potential flip in the midterms following a flurry of polls suggesting the race could potentially become competitive. Democrats need to compete in double-digit Trump states to have a chance at flipping control of the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 advantage. GOP-held seats in Maine, which Trump lost, and North Carolina, which Trump carried by about three points, are Democrats' best opportunities, but there are no other Republican senators in single-digit Trump states up for reelection, meaning Democrats have to flip seats in states like Iowa, Florida, Ohio or Texas to retake Senate control. President Donald Trump delivers remarks in Washington, D.C., on June 12, 2025. President Donald Trump delivers remarks in Washington, D.C., on June 12, To Know A majority of Texans disapprove of Trump for the first time in his second term, according to the poll from the Texas Politics Project. Forty-four percent of respondents said they strongly disapprove of Trump, while 7 percent somewhat disapprove of him. On the other hand, only 27 percent said they strongly approve of Trump, while 17 percent somewhat approve of him. An additional 5 percent said they neither approve nor disapprove of the president. Trump began his second term with majority support among Texans, with 52 percent of them supporting his job performance in February. By April, however, approval had fallen to 47 percent, with 46 percent disapproving of his administration, according to the Texas Politics Project. He remains popular among Texas Republicans, 87 percent of whom have given him positive marks so far, according to the poll. Texans still narrowly approved of Trump's handling of border security, by a 51-41 margin. When it came to the economy, however, voters disapproved of Trump's handling of the issue 51-39 margin, the poll found. The poll surveyed 1,331 registered voters in Texas from June 6 to June 16, 2025, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.83 percentage points. Trump's declines in Texas mirror a broader national downturn observed during his second term. The latest Gallup poll, conducted between June 2 and 19, 2025, surveyed 1,000 adults and reported a net approval rating for Trump of -17 points (40 percent approval, 57 percent disapproval), with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. What People Are Saying Pollsters Jim Henson and Joshua Blank of the Texas Politics Project wrote in a polling report: "Looking specifically at the president's economic job approval numbers, 51% disapproving of his job performance is the worst rating Trump has received across seven UT/TxPP polls asking the question across both of his terms. During his first term, Trump received more approval than disapproval from Texas voters for his handling of the economy in each of five surveys. "In 2025, more have disapproved than approved in each of the two instances in which the question has been asked so far. And while here, too, the president maintains the support of Texas Republicans, the share approving of his economic job performance, 74%, with 14% disapproving, is significantly less than the 90% approval he averaged during his first term." Nate Silver wrote in his polling analysis Thursday: "The latest Trump approval numbers are what we in the polling average business call all over the place. Trump's net approval rating in today's American Research Group poll was -21. That's the worst approval poll of his second term (tied with a June AP/NORC poll). "He's also 16 points underwater in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, 8 points underwater in last week's Fox News poll, and 8 points underwater in today's Morning Consult poll. On the other hand, the latest Trafalgar Group, InsiderAdvantage, and RMG Research polls show Donald Trump's net approval rating at +10, +10, and +7 respectively." What Happens Next Currently, Texas isn't viewed by major elections forecasters as being particularly competitive in 2026. The Cook Political Report classifies both its Senate and gubernatorial races as Solid Republican. But Trump's approval will continue to be monitored as a key metric of how competitive the state could become.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texans' approval of Trump, Abbott sours: Poll
TEXAS (KXAN) — On Wednesday, The Texas Politics Project, or TPP, released its latest poll results about Texans' attitudes toward state and federal leaders, as well as their thoughts on public policy. The poll was conducted between June 6 and 16, and had 1,200 respondents. It is conducted every other month. June 2024: Texas poll tracks voters' views on 2024 election, border security, power grid The average respondent of the survey is white (58%), was born in Texas (66%), lived in the suburbs (52%), had no children (65%), said religion was important to them (68%) but seldom attended services (58% attended two or fewer in a year), was married or in a domestic partnership (54%), owned their home (73%), had an interest in politics (84%), and were not veterans nor had an immediate family member who served (75%). The survey had a fairly balanced mix of men (46%) and women (54%). The 45-64 age group had the largest share of respondents at 35%, followed by 30-44 at 25%, 65+ at 23% and 18-29 at 17%. Educational attainment covered a range: 45% had a high school diploma or GED, 12% had a two-year degree, 27% had a four-year degree, and 13% had a post-graduate degree. For annual household income, 18% of respondents said they earned less than $30,000, while 46% were between $30,000 and $100,000. Twenty-six percent earned more than $100,000. Only 9% of respondents lived in the Austin metro, 10% lived in San Antonio, 24% in Dallas-Fort Worth, 23% in Houston. Party affiliation of respondents broke down into 42% identified as Democrats and 47% identified as Republicans. But most said they didn't like the Democratic (58%) or Republican (52%) parties. Respondents' top issue facing Texas and the nation? Political corruption/leadership. More than half of respondents said they felt the country was on the wrong track (54%). The TPP's high-water mark for this data point came in February, when 48% of respondents said the country was on the right track. They also said inflation and immigration were their second and third most important problems of the day. Nationally, respondents said they didn't feel that drug abuse, the Middle East, Russia, energy or gas prices were problems. Similarly, 51% said the economy was worse than a year ago. Thirty-eight percent also said they expect the economy to worsen over the next year, but 35% said it would get better. Respondent's biggest points of economic concern include the cost of healthcare, food, consumer goods, and housing. President Donald Trump's approval hit its first majority disapproval (51%) on a TPP poll since the start of his latest term. He's actually doing the same as he was in June 2017, six months into his first term. What to make of the final polling of the Biden years In the February 2025 poll, 52% said they approved of the returning President. Border security was the President's only policy that respondents said they approved of, at 51%. Respondents also said they heard a lot (72%) or some (21%) about deportations by the federal government. When asked about legal immigration, a plurality of respondents consistently say that too many people immigrate to the US. Typically, a million people legally immigrate into the US each year, which is around 0.29% of the US population. A majority (51%) said that undocumented immigrants should be 'deported immediately.' However, they also said that authorities shouldn't target immigrants at hospitals (63%), at immigration status hearings (59%), at church (62%), at school (69%), or who were allowed into the US as asylum seekers (62%). Trump's policies that a slight majority of respondents disapproved of include economic policy, inflation and government spending. Most respondents said they worried tariffs would cause prices to increase, and hurt their families and the economy. In the 2024 presidential election, 47% of respondents said they'd voted for Trump. Thirty-eight percent had voted for Kamala Harris, and 13% didn't vote. All respondents said they were registered to vote. A comprehensive map of how Texans voted in the 2024 presidential election Approval of Gov. Greg Abbott has been positive since August 2022. However, the June poll saw him only reach a 41% approval with a 45% disapproval; 12% landed in the middle. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has always seen a roughly 10 point lag behind Abbott on the TPP polls. In the June results, only 30% approved of him. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says Gov. Abbott wants to legalize recreational THC Texas House of Representatives Speaker Dustin Burrows, who was elected to the seat in January, has his first post-legislative session scores. Most (31%) disapproved, but 29% said they didn't know and 25% said they neither approved nor disapproved. Only 16% said they approved of his work. Texas' legislators saw a 26% approval rate and 45% disapproval. These scores are worse than they were following the state's 2023 legislative session: 33% approved and 40% disapproved. Most respondents said they either weren't following the 2025 session closely (38%) or at all (16%). As for the session's impact, 37% said they felt their lives would be worse because of their state lawmakers. TxLege data: How many bills have state lawmakers passed in 2025? Still, most respondents feel that Texas' government is a model that others should follow. The poll also asked about Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Forty-three percent of respondents said they didn't approve of him. Less than a third of respondents approved (29%) of his work. US Senator John Cornyn, who will face a primary challenge from Paxton, has slightly worse rates than the AG. Cornyn's approval sits at 24% and disapproval at 46%. His approval has been falling since 2024, when it hovered around a third of respondents. Related: Texas GOP braces for explosive Senate primary Texas' other Senator, Ted Cruz, has better name recognition than Cornyn. Nearly half (49%) disapprove of him while 38% approve. All of the leaders named above are Republicans. Republican respondents said that their party's elected officials were conservative enough (37%), not enough (35%), or too conservative (17%). Respondents answered if they felt Texas was going in the right direction similarly to how they felt about the nation — 50% said Texas was heading in the wrong direction. October 2018 was the last time 50% of respondents said their state was headed in a good direction. None of the respondents felt that redistricting, electoral fraud, gas prices were problems for Texas. The US Supreme Court's approval rate ebbs and flows across the polls. But on this most recent survey — conducted prior to its June rulings — 45% disapproved and 28% approved. US Supreme Court clears the way for nuclear waste storage in Texas As for the US Congress, its ratings were typical across the years of data: Most respondents don't approve. But, a typically sized group were ambivalent (19%) or didn't know (3%). Just 23% of June respondents said they approve of Congress. The pollsters asked about Elon Musk. His net favorability fell 20 points since April 2025 to hit 53% unfavorable — in December 2024, he had 54% favorability. The recent results could reflect his recent work for the Trump Administration and subsequent fall from grace. Trump: Musk will face 'serious consequences' if he donates to Democrats These results also include TPP's first data about AI; 72% said they were concerned about the new technology's impact in the economy. Only 25% said they weren't concerned. On abortion access, 46% said they supported access, while 38% said they did not. Around 16% said they didn't know or didn't support either position. The survey also included a question about biblical literalism; 29% said the Bible should be taken literally, 41% said it was the word of God but not taken literally, and 24% said it was the work of men and shouldn't be read literally. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas voters give Legislature low marks despite supporting key priorities, poll shows
AUSTIN (KXAN)— Texas voters gave the state Legislature poor marks for its overall performance during the recently concluded session while expressing strong bipartisan support for several major priorities, according to a new University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll released Wednesday. Only 26% of registered voters approved of the Legislature's job performance, while 45% disapproved, the poll found. The approval rating represents a decline from previous sessions, with 37% of voters saying the Legislature made their lives worse compared to 22% who said it made their lives better. June 2024: Texas poll tracks voters' views on 2024 election, border security, power grid Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project, said the findings reflect ongoing concerns about legislative effectiveness. Despite the low overall ratings, Texas voters showed overwhelming support for several key legislative accomplishments: 84% supported increasing funding to improve the state's water supply reliability 74% backed increasing funding for the public education system 71% favored lowering property taxes by increasing the homestead exemption 65% supported banning cell phone use in K-12 public schools during school hours The poll revealed sharp partisan divides on some issues while showing bipartisan consensus on others. Republicans and Democrats both strongly supported water infrastructure investments and property tax relief, but split significantly on social issues. The Legislature's school choice initiative, creating educational savings accounts, garnered 53% support overall, with 67% of Republicans backing the program compared to 42% of Democrats. Gov. Greg Abbott had made school choice a top priority after previous failures to pass such legislation. MOST READ: Texans' approval of Trump, Abbott sours: Poll More controversial measures received mixed reception. A requirement for public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms, already signed into law by Abbott, had 44% support and 43% opposition. The measure was backed by 68% of Republicans but opposed by 67% of Democrats. Prohibiting diversity, equity and inclusion programs in K-12 schools proved deeply polarizing, with 78% of Republicans supporting such bans while 80% of Democrats opposed them. The poll also found divisions among Republicans on cannabis policy. When asked about outlawing hemp-derived cannabis products, only 31% of all voters supported a ban while 53% opposed it. 'Among Republicans, 46% supported the ban, 39% opposed it, but 15% said they didn't know. So, Republicans are very divided on this,' Henson said in an interview with KXAN's Will DuPree. Henson noted that the divisions reflect broader changes in Republican attitudes. 'If you look at some of the other data on marijuana, on particularly medical marijuana, we do know that over the last decade or two, Republicans have become more divided with more Republicans being more open to decriminalization or you know various kinds of low-level recreational use and we're seeing that at play here.' The poll found traditionally low public attention to the legislative session, with only 7% of voters following it 'extremely closely' and 40% following 'somewhat closely.' More than half said they were not following the session very closely or at all. The results suggest that while voters may not approve of the Legislature's overall performance, many of the specific policies enacted during the session — particularly those focused on infrastructure, education funding and property tax relief — align with public preferences across party lines. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas lawmakers voted to ban consumable THC products. Will Gov. Greg Abbott sign — or veto — the bill?
Gov. Greg Abbott is facing intense political pressure over a bill that would ban products containing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, as hemp industry leaders mount a full-court press urging the governor to veto the measure while Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and his allies urge Abbott to sign it into law. The issue has sparked backlash from both sides of the aisle, including from conservatives ordinarily supportive of Patrick's hardline agenda. An April statewide survey by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin found that 55% of Republicans believe Texas' marijuana and cannabis laws should be less strict or left as they are now, compared to 40% who said they should be stricter. Less than one-third of voters of all political persuasions said the state should stiffen its THC laws. Yet, should he break out the veto pen, Abbott would likely incur the wrath of Patrick, the powerful Senate leader who made the ban one of his top priorities, calling THC-infused products — such as gummies, beverages and vapes — a 'poison in our public.' In a sign of the intense fallout since lawmakers approved the ban, Patrick called a news conference last week to renew his criticism of the hemp industry and the products they are pushing, which he said are designed to appeal to children. Patrick, brandishing a THC-infused lollipop and standing before a table covered in cannabis products, said, 'You might go into a store and buy 'em and not even know that you're getting your kid high on drugs and hooked for life.' The hemp industry supported an alternative to the ban that would have restricted THC products to Texans 21 and older, barred sales within a certain distance of schools and outlawed marketing the products in ways that are 'attractive to children,' which they said would make people less likely to develop a dependency on the drug. Asked if he was calling the news conference over concerns about an Abbott veto, Patrick said he was 'not worried about the governor.' 'I'm worried about the pressure on the media and the general public to try to keep this going in some way and bring it back,' Patrick said, adding, 'I'm not going to speak for the governor. He will do what he is going to do. I have total confidence in the governor.' Meanwhile, as the Legislature prepared to gavel out for the session on Monday, hemp industry leaders held their own news conference to call for Abbott to veto the bill — underscoring the competing pressures now facing the governor. Abbott has three options for how to handle the THC ban, known as Senate Bill 3. He has 20 days after the end of the session to sign or veto the measure. If he does neither, it will become law without his signature. An Abbott spokesperson declined Monday to say what he would do, saying only that the governor 'will thoughtfully review any legislation sent to his desk.' On Monday, the Texas Hemp Business Council reported that it delivered 5,000 letters to Abbott's office, along with a petition signed by some 120,000 people, urging the governor to veto the bill. The group organized a news conference in which industry leaders, business owners and a sixth-generation Texan farmer — along with a pair of military veterans — blasted lawmakers who pushed the ban, accusing them of putting politics and power above sensible policy. Dave Walden, a Texas VFW senior vice commander who served multiple combat deployments in more than a decade with the U.S. Army, shared a story about how his life was saved by a veteran-founded company that makes THC gummies. The cannabis helps Walden manage the chronic pain and PTSD that's plagued him since he returned from service, he said. "I live with the scars that you can see and the ones that you can't and like thousands of us, I went through the government's solution: a never-ending parade of pills," Walden said. "Those drugs nearly destroyed me." Thanks to the legal, hemp-derived consumable products he found, Walden said that he has not touched an opioid since 2018. "THC gummies brought me back," he said. "Let's stop pretending this is about public safety. This is about control and veterans are caught in the crossfire." Industry leaders, meanwhile, tried to appeal to Abbott by arguing that a ban would hurt Texas' business-friendly reputation and weaken its border security by giving rise to a black market in place of legal dispensaries. State Sen. Charles Perry, the Lubbock Republican who authored the THC ban, said those businesses were 'forewarned,' when lawmakers approved 2019 legislation authorizing the sale of consumable hemp, that the measure was only intended to boost agriculture. 'If you're doing hemp that ultimately ended up as a Delta 8 or a Delta 10 [product], going forward, you're out of business,' Perry said. 'And you should be.' Disclosure: University of Texas at Austin has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
